Monday, April 25, 2011

The seven Anglican churches who are being sued by both The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia will present opening arguments today in the Fairfax County Circuit Court. Six weeks have been allotted for trial. Judge Randy Bellows, who presided over the earlier 57-9 proceedings, will preside.

UPDATE: Opening arguments did go forward today - no major surprises. On the stand tomorrow: The Rt. Rev'd David Jones, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Bishop Jones was once the overseer of church planting in the Diocese of Virginia. After the 2006 vote to separate by 15 churches in the diocese, the bottom dropped out of the church planting budget. The chair of the diocesan Church Planting Committee was among those who eventually moved to the ACNA.

TUESDAY UPDATE: From the AP:

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A years-long dispute between the Episcopal Church and several breakaway congregations over homosexuality and important tenets of Christian doctrine was back in a Virginia courtroom on Monday, where the fight will likely be decided on mundane aspects of real estate and contract law.

A Fairfax County judge heard opening statements in the case between the denomination and seven dissident congregations, who voted nearly five years ago to leave the Episcopal Church and realign as conservative branch of the worldwide Anglican church. The move was precipitated by the 2003 consecration of an openly gay bishop from New Hampshire. However, it also involved fundamental differences on Scriptural matters, including what some conservatives say is equivocation from Episcopal leadership on the divinity of Christ.

The Episcopal Church and its diocese in Virginia sued to gain control of property held by the breakaway congregations, which includes some of the denomination's most prominent and historic churches. Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church — for which the city of Falls Church is named — trace their roots back to Colonial times, when George Washington served as a vestryman.

In 2008, Fairfax County Circuit Judge Randy Bellows ruled in favor of the breakaway congregations under a rarely used Virginia law dating to the Civil War governing the breakup of churches. But the Virginia Supreme Court overturned Bellows' ruling and told him to decide the case "under principles of real property and contract law."

On Monday, more than a dozen lawyers representing various parties in the dispute returned to Bellows' courtroom for opening statements in what is expected to be a six-week bench trial. The various parties plan to introduce roughly 8,000 exhibits.

Lawyers for The Episcopal Church, which has roughly 2 million members in the U.S., said the relevant contract is the one between the Episcopal Church and its congregations. Individual congregations agree to respect church hierarchy, lawyer Mary Kostel said, and the Episcopal denomination voted in 1979 that all church property held by local congregations is done so in trust for the national denomination.

Congregations that don't like the rules are not free to simply leave when they disagree with church policy or doctrine, she said.

"Authority in the church flows down" from the top, Kostel said.

Gordon Coffee, lawyer for the seven breakaway congregations, urged the judge to look at the property deeds. All of the deeds convey ownership to trustees at the individual congregations — none grants title to the larger denomination, Coffee said.

"When (denominations) want to subject property to their control, they know how to do it" on the deed itself, Coffee said. Catholic and Mormon churches, for instance, often list religious leaders like bishops on the deed, he said. Or conditions can be placed on the deed to require a congregation to adhere to church doctrine to maintain title to the property.

The legal dispute has been costly for both sides. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has lost congregations that collectively contributed $10.4 million directly to the diocese in the 20-year period before the dispute erupted.

And the breakaway congregations have spent millions of dollars in legal fees. Warren Thrasher, executive director at Truro, said the 1,200 members of that church alone have spent roughly $2 million in legal fees, raised through a legal defense fund kept separate from the rest of the church's ministry.

Thrasher said that while many church members wish the dispute could be settled, they contributed more than $500,000 earlier this year for the legal defense.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

This is the second Virginia Anglican parish to reach a settlement with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in recent weeks. From Robin Adams and Church of the Word:

GAINESVILLE, VA – Church of the Word (COTW), one of a handful of Northern Virginia churches embroiled in a four-year long lawsuit with The Episcopal Church (TEC), will retain its church property after an out-of-court settlement signed Monday, April 18, released it from the pending litigation.
The leadership of COTW, which is a multiracial congregation made up of predominantly young families, is relieved to have achieved their major goals of separating from TEC, retaining their property, and preserving their tradition of worship and ministry.

Church of the Word is one of a number of formerly Episcopal congregations that had severed ties with the denomination over matters of doctrinal drift and novel pastoral practices. Upon breaking away from the denomination in December 2006, TEC filed a lawsuit against eleven Northern Virginia churches in an attempt to keep them from retaining their property. Currently, the next phase of this litigation will continue for the remaining seven churches with the commencement of a late-April 2011 trial in the Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court.

COTW’s settlement allows it to keep its property, and now free of litigation, may concentrate on its vision, which is to ‘Encounter and Share Jesus Christ’. It does, however, require that COTW sever its affiliation with the newly established Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), and the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) for a period of five years.

COTW’s pastor, Rev. Robin Adams said, “This settlement allows us to keep the church building that was paid for by us, not the Episcopal Church. It also allows us to put this painful experience behind us and move on with ministering the love of Christ to a broken world. We will not lose our Anglican identity, though we may have to rethink how we do church in the short term.

Adams said the requirement to temporally disaffiliate from ACNA is one of the more difficult aspects of the settlement, but he remains positive.

“Our goal is to return to the ACNA fold when the disaffiliation period is completed as a stronger Christian body,” he said. “We’ll continue to worship in our accustomed manner, and for most of our members, this provision will not even be something they’ll notice in our day-to-day church ministry.”
Adams called the disaffiliation requirement “a failure to ‘respect the dignity of every human being,’ as the baptismal covenant says, and is certainly unchristian.”

“It is heartbreaking that The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia were unwilling to explore out of court settlement options with Church of the Word unless it severed all ties to its orthodox Anglican family,” ADV Chairman Jim Oakes said. “Church of the Word and all within the ADV have been seeking the Lord in prayer as we search for the best path forward. In spite of the separation mandate, we support the members of Church of the Word and they will remain our dear brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Church of the Word has believed all along that its property belonged to those who paid for it – the local congregation. The Episcopal Church, on the other hand, believes that all church assets within the denomination are held in trust for the national church, regardless of state property laws. An earlier court decision sided with the breakaway churches, but was then reversed upon appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. The suit was returned to the circuit court for re-trial based on a different body of law in June 2010.

“We originally voted to leave the Episcopal Church in 2006 over theological and pastoral issue,” COTW’s former senior warden Dane Swenson said. “We felt the denomination had drifted away from basic Christian belief and practices. For example, Anglicans are supposed to hold that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, as opposed to just another possible option among many. And we believe that the Bible is the guiding authority for Christian doctrine, and must not be subservient to or shaped by the culture of the moment.”

Initially the denomination had provided a process by which the congregations could leave the denomination and maintain ownership of the properties they had purchased and maintained.

“Had the Diocese of Virginia stuck to its original agreement in its official ‘Protocol for Departing Congregations,’ then four years of expensive legal action could have been avoided,” Adams said. “Nevertheless we are thankful to have reached settlement with the diocese today.”

While Church of the Word is relieved to be able to keep its property, the congregation actually outgrew its facility long ago and has had to put building plans on hold during the years of uncertainty due to the litigation. Robin Adams says the church will develop its modest site to the best of its abilities, and will refocus on planning for the future.

“Any financial resources we might have saved toward expanding went toward our legal fees in this case,” COTW treasurer Robert Miller said. “Maybe there are people out there who think our stand against biblical compromise was worth the cost. Maybe they’ll help us raise the funds we need. You never know how God will work.”

With faith that God will supply the church’s need, Adams says it will establish a fund for anyone who might like to donate. He’s hoping like-minded friends still in the Episcopal Church might pledge a gift to help Church of the Word, even while they work for reform within that body.
“You never know unless you make your needs known,” Adams says.

Official Statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia:

April 19, 2011

Today the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church announced a settlement with Church of the Word (COTW), Gainesville, the second reached with one of the nine congregations that left the Episcopal Church in 2006 and then sought to retain Episcopal church property. Church of Our Saviour, Oatlands reached a settlement on February 20. "We are pleased to have reached another settlement, an important step toward enabling all involved to focus our shared energies on our important ministries," said the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, bishop of Virginia.

"This settlement has a set of unique circumstances that led the Diocese to allow COTW to retain Episcopal property," stated Henry D.W. Burt, secretary of the Diocese of Virginia. "Changes in the immediate vicinity of the church, namely massive construction along Route 29 that eliminates direct access to the church, create significant challenges for any congregation in that space. Should COTW ultimately decide to relocate, the Diocese of Virginia has given them the certainty and control they need to determine what is best for the congregation and the day school they offer to the Gainesville community."

Under the agreement, the Diocese will retain $1.95 million from a payment by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for loss of value to the property as a result of the construction. In exchange, COTW will retain the church building and personal property, and will be responsible for the mortgage on the property. COTW will also retain $85,000 in cash from the VDOT payment and be permitted to negotiate for additional monies from VDOT. In addition, COTW will voluntarily disaffiliate from the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV) and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) for a period of five years. The pastor of COTW will be allowed to remain in the CANA healthcare plan and retirement plan, if permissible under the conditions of these benefit plans.

"This is a welcome and appropriate resolution for all involved," said Bishop Johnston. "It allows everyone to continue their important work while we will continue to preserve and expand the legacy of the Episcopal Church for future generations."

The trial on property issues for the remaining seven Episcopal Church properties will begin in the Fairfax Circuit Court on Monday, April 25.

Official Statement from the Anglican District of Virginia, which calls the settlement "heartbreaking":

FAIRFAX, Va. (April 19, 2010) – Anglican District of Virginia member parish Church of the Word in Gainesville, Va., has voted to take a settlement option presented by the Diocese of Virginia and The Episcopal Church in the matter of their property. The settlement results in Church of the Word’s outright ownership of its property for future ministry. However, it will require Church of the Word to disaffiliate from the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), and any other Anglican entity for a period of at least five years.

“It is heartbreaking that The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia were unwilling to explore out of court settlement options with Church of the Word unless it severed all ties to its orthodox Anglican family. Church of the Word and all within ADV have been seeking the Lord in prayer as we search for the best path forward. In spite of the separation mandate, we support the members of Church of the Word and they will remain our dear brothers and sisters in Christ,” said ADV Chairman Jim Oakes.

“There’s no question: This litigation is a distraction from our mission and the good work our churches are doing every day to change lives. We never wanted a court battle in the first place and were saddened when amicable negotiations over properties that were purchased and maintained by our congregations were abruptly cut off.

“The litigation, which now involves seven parishes, does not define ADV and has not hindered our growth. In fact, we have grown to 32 member congregations and nine mission fellowships. We will continue to pray for a quick resolution to this matter as we look forward to the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection on Easter morning,” Oakes concluded.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Yes, she's gone and done it - her article on Bob Dylan reads as an inadvertent satire (wonder if she's seen the Newport videos?), and we find yet again a bitter reminder that when superficial commentators take a minute, just a minute to consider Bob Dylan they find themselves on their own motorcycle in midair. It appears that there are some folks crica 1966-2011 who have not yet landed, they are still up there.

And Maureen Dowd now seems to be right up there with them. If she could, she might have been seen backstage in Beijing last week with her own fire ax pushing the hapless Pete Seeger aside so she can chop the Beijing cables herself.

Bob Dylan is consistently turned into a blank canvas for each successive generation so that when they heave their own cultural paint onto him, they then whine when it doesn't stick.

Here in this article she throws a tantrum because her canvas of Dylan was all wrong - wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong - and then blames him for it! Does she not know? Has she not heard? He doesn't do "finger-pointing" songs. He told them all to take that job and stuff it and that started when? Why, in 1963. Was anybody listening? And no, he hasn't sung Hurricane in decades. The last time he did, he had painted his own face for them. Yes, the erstwhile aging hippies do pop up at his concerts from time to time, shouting Hurricane over and over and no, he doesn't even blink an eye.

He rarely does Blowin' in the Wind either and when he does you find yourself passing folks after the show like I did at the Merriweather Post Pavilion a few years back asking one another in bewilderment if he had actually sung, Blowin' in the Wind that night, and when told that he had indeed, they comment, "He did?" If Maureen Dowd wasn't so busy revving up her motorcycle for the big jump, she might have paused last year when Dylan did offer one of his rare performances of The Times They Are Changin' at the White House of all places, while a majority in the room seemed rather stunned that he had turned their defiant anthem of self righteous contempt into a wry and somewhat regretful lament that seemed to say (and who can say for sure?) well, you know, may be we were all young and stupid after all.

So in honor of this forty-years-too-late-shark-jumping-tantrum (did she even see the playlist from the Beijing show where he opened with Gonna Change My Way of Thinking?), we offer this little selection that won him the Oscar (which in his winking way is now not so serendipitously ducktaped to his on-stage amp) and hope that someone somewhere will find the poor lady a binky.

Friday, April 08, 2011

Mr. Russell V. Palmore Jr., chancellor of the Diocese since 1987, died today following cataract surgery. A long-time member of St. Paul's, Richmond, Mr. Palmore was a towering leader in the Church, both in the Diocese and within the greater Episcopal Church. "Today, the Diocese joins in mourning the loss of one of our greatest leaders," said the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, bishop. "Russ was a tremendous example of loyalty and dedication to the Episcopal Church."

Mr. Palmore represented Virginia as a lay deputy to General Convention for eight consecutive triennial Conventions from 1988-2009, and was elected to serve as deputy to the 2012 Convention. A former member of the Standing Committee and the Board of Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters by Virginia Theological Seminary in 2008.

"Russ maintained an unparalleled involvement in Church leadership throughout his life, back to the time that he served as a counselor and assistant director at St. George's Camp at Shrine Mont" said Bishop Johnston. "The Diocese of Virginia has been truly blessed by his continuous and unwavering support and work for the ministry of the Church."

Mr. Palmore was a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia School of Law, and was a long-timer partner at the Richmond law firm of Mays & Valentine, later known as Troutman Sanders.

Please keep his wife, Susan, his daughters, grandson and the Palmore family in your thoughts and prayers. The Diocese will make available more information as soon as possible.

BB NOTE: Russ Palmore, among many of his accomplishments, was the chairman of the Bishop's Special Committee that wrote the Protocol for Departing Congregations. His steady hand and wise counsel at Diocesan Councils over the years was matchless. He has also provided solid leadership on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church for many years. You can read more of his other accomplishments here.

May we remember Russ Palmore's wife and family, his parish, Bishop Johnston and Bishop Lee, and the members of Diocese of Virginia, in our prayers. This is a great loss.

Here is a statement from the Anglican District of Virginia:

“It was with sorrow that we learned of the death of Russell Palmore, Esq, Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Russell was a Christian gentleman of the highest integrity with a great love for the church. He will be greatly missed. On behalf of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America and the Anglican District of Virginia, we send sincere condolences to his family and the Diocese of Virginia.”

The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns
Missionary Bishop
Convocation of Anglicans in North America

The Rt. Rev. David Bena
Contact Bishop
Anglican District of Virginia

James Oakes
Chairman
Anglican District of Virginia

UPDATE: The Diocese of Virginia has released information on the funeral arrangements - here it is:

The funeral for Chancellor Russell V. Palmore Jr., who died yesterday, will be held on Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m. at St. Paul's, Richmond, 815 E. Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219. The family will receive visitors on Monday, April 11 from 5-8 p.m., also at St. Paul's.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Bob Dylan will make his debut in China tomorrow, starting with a sell-out concert in Beijing followed by a gig in Shanghai on Friday.

It may be that Dylan has some way to go to win mass popularity in China, though. When the Xinmin Evening News, one of Shanghai's most-read newspapers, wrote a story previewing his concert, they inadvertently used a picture of Willie Nelson.

"In China, maybe many people have heard of Dylan, but not many really know who he is," said Zhang Xiaozhou, a Beijing music critic.

Dylan, whose first attempt to come to China last year was reportedly vetoed by the culture ministry, is being brought in by concert promotion giants Live Nation.

Dylan, who turns 70 in May, will play his first mainland show at the Workers' Gymnasium of Beijing, followed by another at Shanghai Grand Stage on 8th April.

UPDATE: Dylan has finished his debut concert in China. LiveBlogging was here. Thrilled of course to see he played It's All Over Now, Baby Blue. The Telegraph LiveBlog reported that he sang Gotta Serve Somebody, but that does not appear on the setlist from the ever-faithful, ever-diligent BobLinks. Can a theme be detected from the setlist? Such things are highly subjective (who knows whether he just plays a form of Refrigerator Poetry with his songs before printing out the setlist?). We see - from the very first opening song, themes of change, of turning away from the past, but not necessarily toward a glorious future either. He mixes his old with his new, including Beyond Here Lies Nothing. What is of note is that he does two encores - something I haven't seen him do in recent memory.

After 50 years of performing, Bob Dylan finally received a stamp of approval from the Chinese Culture Ministry and made his first Chinese stage appearance in Beijing Wednesday.

Dylan, who has been refused and had Chinese tour dates canceled in the past, played under a stipulation that he only performed approved content. In front of a 5,000-person crowd at the Worker's Gymnasium, the 69-year old singer-songwriter croaked out a 17-song set list that mixed modern and vintage pieces, ranging from the hugely popular to the virtually unknown. Highlighting the performance were famous hits "Like a Rolling Stone," "Tangled Up In Blue" and "All Along the Watchtower."

Timetakes a crack at interpreting his setlist, but again through the lens that he is a "protest" artist, which of course, Joan Baez pointed out he was not in Martin Scorsese documentary, No Direction Home. She remembered how people would come up to her during the 60s protest years and asked where Bob was and over and over again she'd have to say, he's not coming, he never comes. What I find interesting in the setlist is that he doesn't look forward to some glorious future here on earth either - so much for the joys of revolution.

Love it that It's All Over Now, Baby Blue got through the censors. That just sort of makes one day. Obliviously the Chinese censors haven't got a clue. The folkies in Newport got it in 1966, but not so the Beijing officials who reportedly packed 2,000 minders into the concert. And so we shall dedicate this performance to them. Because we can.

Here is the opening statement from a fascinating press conference held prior to Bob Dylan's concert scheduled for April 10th in Vietnam.

UPDATE: Cafe friend Sean Curnyn over at Cinch Reviewwrites this gem regarding the press stories that Dylan has had to submit his lyrics before his setlist is approved for public performance in both China and his upcoming concert in Vietnam. Sean writes:

As with other concerts here, Vietnamese authorities required Dylan to submit the lyrics of songs he plans to perform for review.

I can’t help wondering how Dylan went about this, both for the Vietnamese and the Chinese authorities. Did he just send them a copy of his book, Lyrics: 1962-2001? Of course, that would leave out his most recent songs, but they could have been printed out and appended.

The mental image of these communist bureaucrats going through all of those songs, trying to figure them out, is an oddly pleasant one.

Perhaps they can shed some light on Visions of Johanna. Or perhaps not. Read all of Sean's post here.

NOTE: By the way, Dylan opened his first China concert with Gonna Change My Way of Thinking, a bold bold thing to do. Here are the lyrics:

Gonna change my way of thinking
Make myself a different set of rules
Gonna change my way of thinking
Make myself a different set of rules
Gonna put my good foot forward
And stop being influenced by fools

So much oppression
Can’t keep track of it no more
So much oppression
Can’t keep track of it no more
Sons becoming husbands to their mothers
And old men turning young daughters into whores

Stripes on your shoulders
Stripes on your back and on your hands
Stripes on your shoulders
Stripes on your back and on your hands
Swords piercing your side
Blood and water flowing through the land

Well don’t know which one is worse
Doing your own thing or just being cool
Well don’t know which one is worse
Doing your own thing or just being cool
You remember only about the brass ring
You forget all about the golden rule

You can mislead a man
You can take ahold of his heart with your eyes
You can mislead a man
You can take ahold of his heart with your eyes
But there’s only one authority
And that’s the authority on high

I got a God-fearing woman
One I can easily afford
I got a God-fearing woman
One I can easily afford
She can do the Georgia crawl
She can walk in the spirit of the Lord

Jesus said, “Be ready
For you know not the hour in which I come”
Jesus said, “Be ready
For you know not the hour in which I come”
He said, “He who is not for Me is against Me”
Just so you know where He’s coming from ...

B. Dylan 1979

You can hear an excerpt from the original recording at BobDylan.com here. Bob Dylan performs in Shanghai on Friday.